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The incident took place in North Hwanghae province, which borders South Korea and is the location of a well-visited tourist destination due to being home to the ancient capital of Korea.

Diplomats have rushed from Beijing to the scene of the accident to assess the situation.

China said more than 237,000 Chinese visited North Korea in 2012, but stopped publishing the figures in 2013.

China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, despite Beijing's anger at Pyongyang's repeated nuclear and missile tests and support for strong United Nations sanctions against North Korea.

North and South Korea are in the final stages of preparations for a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-In at the border truce village of Panmunjom on Friday.